About

This City Plan (Part A and Part B) was launched in March 2014 and sets a vision and a framework for future development in the city centre. City is the name formally given to the central urban area of the ACT at its gazettal in 1928. However, it is more colloquially known as Civic. For the purpose of this plan it is referred to as the city centre.

The City Plan was jointly funded by the ACT and Australian governments under the Liveable Cites Program.

Planning and development regulation in the city centre is split between the Australian Government (through the National Capital Authority and its National Capital Plan) and the ACT Government (both as land owner and through its Territory Plan).

Over the years of planning for the city centre and its surrounds, separate and distinct plans have been made by both governments to establish the future character, growth and development of areas of the city centre.

There has however, been no single over-arching strategic framework that sets a clear plan for the city centre into the future. This plan seeks to do this by setting the underpinning spatial framework to support the future growth and development of the city centre as an important local, regional and national place.

The City Plan actions are all subject to further government investigation, consideration and decision-making in budget contexts over the longer term.

Federal support

The plan was made possible with a $500,000 grant from the Australian Government’s Liveable Cities Program, which supports state, territory and local governments in meeting the challenges of improving the quality of life in our capitals and major regional cities. It supports strategic planning in line with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) principles for facilitating urban renewal and strategic urban development.

The ACT Government contributed $1 million in resources towards the plan.

Implementation

The next stage is the implementation of the Plan. Successful implementation will be shared between government, industry, investors and the community. The ACT Government has agreed to five priority projects which will begin our delivery under the plan and set a path for the future. These projects focus on reducing traffic impacts to help people connect across the city, getting more people living in the city to add vibrancy and character, progressing the City to the Lake project and reviewing mechanisms and incentives to encourage investment in the city. The City Plan will also be implemented alongside transformational projects such as Capital Metro which will change the way people get to the city centre by providing light rail for the first time in the ACT.